The Prayer of Jabez Devotional (Hardcover)

The prayer of Jabez, from 1 Chronicles 4:10, is life changing, similar in so many ways to The Lord's Prayer ((Matt. 6:9-13), and the full understanding of it seems to only come when one is ready for it, and prepared to serve the Lord in a larger capacity. Many misunderstand it, thinking the blessings asked for are for one's own gratification, but this is not the case. The lesson of Jabez is in doing more for the Lord, as stated on pg. 54, "God wants you to urgently desire a larger life with more opportunities to serve Him".
A well constructed and aesthetically pleasing little book, with light peachy-beige marbleized pages and dark brown easy-to-read print, reading this every morning for a month is time put to good use. For a powerful 365 day devotional, I highly recommend Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest".

Each day starts with a Biblical quote. Next comes an essay about that day's theme usually illustrated by both a Biblical (from both the Old and New Testments) and a contemporary example. Next, you have activities to do in a journal. Finally, the material ends with one or two spiritual quotes.

The days are organized into five groupings:

(1) O Lord, Bless Me Indeed! -- For seven days, you examine The Favor of the Father, The Royal Life, Holy Askers, God Loves Nobodies, What's in a Name?, The Secret of Abundance, and No Limits. The focus here is that God wants to bless you in ways that further His will for others and you, and that these blessings will not occur in many cases unless you ask for the blessings.

(2) O Lord, Enlarge My Borders! -- The next seven days are spent on Increasing the Yield, What is My Territory?, Advance Planning, The Face of Fear, Comfort Zones, Jabez Appointments, and The Simple Truth. I found this section especially good for encouraging me to want to take on more for God. Moving beyond one's own competence is legitimately daunting!

(3) O Lord, Put Your Hand Upon Me! -- The following seven days are focused on He Provides the Power, By My Spirit, The Bottomless Basket, Power with Purpose, The Brave and the Bold, No Pride Inside, and Right Here, Right now. This section emphasizes that God is doing the heavy lifting when more is accompished, and that we should watch out that we do not start to take credit for God's work. That false pride will sink us!

(4) O Lord, Keep Me from Evil! -- This subsequent seven days consider Don't Even Go There, Finding the Escape Hatch, Decoding Defeat, The Three-Minute Temptation Buster, Opposing Forces, Deliverance and Children of Light. I found this section helpful in identifying many ways to avoid temptation and evil, especially by calling more frequently on the Holy Spirit.

(5) Eiplogue -- In the final three days, you rejoice in what you have learned and started to apply. This includes Could God Be That Good?, Who, Me?, and Keep This Forever in Your Heart. This section reaffirms that God wants more from each of us, no matter how insignificant we see ourselves.

I have found myself thinking more and more about the concepts that Mr. Wilkinson introduced in The Prayer and Jabez, and have felt closer to God since then. This devotional let me think through my commitment to God in even more fundamental ways. I am very glad that I have read and started to apply both books.

From both of these books I have learned that I should be more active in seeking God out, and especially in seeking to do His will rather than my will. I find a great sense of peace and fulfillment when I take that path. That tells me it is the right one! Try this yourself, and see if it doesn't make a difference.

How can you find and do God's will in more ways?